Franco Albini

Italy (1905–1977)

Born in Milan in 1905, Franco Albini’s work spans across furni­ture design, product design, archi­tec­ture, urban plan­ning and inte­rior design. His work was an inte­gra­tion of modern design and Italian crafts­man­ship. Through his product and furni­ture design, Albini cele­brated the raw form of mate­ri­als and trans­par­ent construc­tion. Albini would forgo orna­ment and encase­ment of furni­ture, to allow the struc­ture to be revealed. In 1939, he debuted a radio fully encased in glass to expose the inner work­ings. His most well-known work is the Albini Desk in 1949 for Knoll, which is still in produc­tion today. As a designer, he has collab­o­rated with Gio Ponti, Franca Helg, as well as Helg and Bob Noorda.